


Pyrrhic Luck

by draikana



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, I need season 5 to come out soon and this is how I'm trying to fill the void, Lots of implied ships, Multi, also polyships because what is an ot4?, still screaming over Pyrrha and her fate and it's 2017. what is my life????, who even knows what this fic is? i don't even know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 07:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11308161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draikana/pseuds/draikana
Summary: “Do you believe in destiny?”Cinder walked over to her kneeling down victim and brushed her hand against Pyrrha’s red hair, her diadem. Her face was the last one Pyrrha saw. Then everything went red hot with pain, before fading into eerie darkness.Pyrrha then woke up in her present world with an uncharacteristic scream.|||Or AU where Pyrrha unfortunately jumps into another timeline whenever she dies. Will she be able to keep Beacon from falling, or will her actions even matter?(Spoilers for Volume 3, obviously)





	Pyrrhic Luck

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this chapter like forever ago (like last year, forever ago). Now deciding to post it now, because it's late and that means it's time for bad choices lol. It's been semi-edited by a few of my friends; but probably the rest of this won't be beta-read, so future apologies for anything sounding weird and gross, and grammar errors.
> 
> Don't know if that rating is going to go up, but it's Teen right now to be safe. 
> 
> (Also, I haven't forgotten about "White Wings".)
> 
> But, for now, please enjoy, and thank you in advance for giving my fic a chance. <3

“Do you believe in destiny?”

Pyrrha looked upward at the woman in front of her, eyes full of resistance despite knowing where the end of her line was. It was before her, in the hands of the woman she failed to beat. Cinder, in turn, simply stared back. Her own brows furrowed as she glared down, a sliver of a hidden tear rolling down her cheek. “Yes,” the fall maiden answered simply. 

Spirals of dark black Dust twisted and formed into Cinder’s hands, and the black haired woman drew an arrow from the bow. 

This was it: Pyrrha’s destiny. 

All she could do was brace herself.

_ "I'm sorry,”  _ she thought, her mind turning to her friends, her teammates, _Jaune_. 

But no amount of knowing could spare Pyrrha from the pain. She gasped as the arrow buried deep into her chest, hand wandering to where the arrow embedded itself. Her fingers brushed against its shaft, shaking. There was nothing she could do; she couldn’t even cry. She breathed in a shuddering breath as shock dulled most of the pain from the arrow’s wound and slumped forward. Cinder walked over to her kneeling down victim and brushed her hand against Pyrrha’s red hair, her diadem. 

Her calm, emotionally detached face was the last one Pyrrha saw. Then everything went red hot with pain, before fading into eerie darkness.

 

Pyrrha woke up in her present world with an uncharacteristic scream. She barely registered someone calling her name as she fell to the floor in a still-screaming, graceless thump, tangled within her sheets. Everything in her lurched violently -- threatening an upchuck -- and she pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from spilling her guts out. It kept her from screaming more and silence filled the echo of her screams. 

Her teammates were awake, judging by Ren silently turning on the light as Nora and Jaune scurried their way over to her side. 

“Pyrrha? What’s wrong?” she heard Jaune ask, a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t reply. Couldn’t reply. Pushing herself up with her left hand, she pushed past their blurred figures and ran out the dorm room.

She barely made it to the toilet stall. Coughing, all the teen felt was bile and whatever last night’s dinner was burning up through her throat and out her mouth. Pyrrha gripped the cold porcelain as if her life depended on it. She cried again as her whole body shocked her with white-hot pain, just as before in her dream. The memory of her death burned her more than the bile did, she thought wistfully and her stomach heaved again at the thought.

The overhead lights flicked on moments later and she groaned softly.  _ Too bright... _ A small creak of the stall door behind her opened and she could hear that someone sat down behind her. They did not say anything, but instead gently pulled her hair, with throw-up, tears, and sweat mixed in, behind her. 

“I’m sorry,” she managed to murmur, before hacking up nothing but air and watery acid saliva. 

“It’s okay,” Jaune answered. Pyrrha wheezed at his voice, but the blond took it as a sign of help and lightly patted her back.

“Feel better now?” he asked moments later, after Pyrrha leaned against him tiredly. She nodded slowly, not trusting herself to speak yet. Jaune reached over to press the lever for the toilet. They sat like that for a moment longer. She secretly wished they would stay like that forever, but Jaune had other ideas. He waited till long after the toilet refilled the bowl before helping his team member up and he guided her out of the stall and to the bathroom sinks. Wordlessly, he watched her as she pressed water into her mouth, spat it out, and threw water in her face -- repeating several times. Through the droplets of water, she gave herself a quick look up and down. 

There were no outward tellings of her skin peeling from burn marks ghosting across her skin, no remnants of ash, no wound or scar of a black arrow that pierced her skin. Only a paler, blanker version of herself staring back at her through water-blurred vision.  _ Just a dream _ , she wanted to tell herself,  _ it was just a dream _ . But she knew better than to lie to herself. 

“Hey…” Jaune’s voice snapped her back into the real world. He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, frowning a bit. 

“You’re still really warm, even with all that cold water,” he muttered, and the red head barely could look at him. Nor keep herself from blushing at his proximity, as a traitorous memory of a kiss flashed through her head and tingled her lips. 

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked down, anywhere away from her team leader. Jaune shook his head as he dropped his hand to his side. 

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone gets sick sometimes. It’s nothing to get embarrassed about.” He looked over her, before saying she should shower. Her face flushed even more and she opened her mouth to say-- what would she have said? But Jaune interrupted with a point to her hair. 

“You have... throw up in your hair.” That shut her up quick. “It’s okay, go ahead. I’ll go bring you some clothes and a towel. That is unless Nora is back from making sure Ren doesn’t make one of his ‘specialty drinks’ for you and actually bring back water.” 

He chuckled, before turning to leave. “She’s convinced that he’ll poison you.” 

He stopped as Pyrrha grabbed a hold of his wrist. “Thank you, Jaune. Sorry that you’re taking care of me.” 

The blond grinned sheepishly at her. Maybe it was her, but she could have sworn she saw a dash of pink across his cheeks as he answered, “Pyrrha, really, it’s nothing. I mean, I’m sure you’d do the same for me. After all, we’re partners and part of the same team.” 

His answer genuinely warmed her and all she could do was weakly smile back at him. “Right.”

Although Pyrrha made her way to the showers, and Jaune back to their dorm room -- after a quick stop to the boy’s bathroom to wash his own hands from Pyrrha’s throw up, of course -- something nagged at him. Pyrrha was not feeling good, that part was stupidly obvious. But, he had never heard her scream before… and it sounded like she was in pain. And there were tears. All this from a dream? He frowned, not noticing that someone was waiting for him outside their dorm rooms.

“Coming out of the girl’s bathroom, Jaune?” 

His face grew warm as he felt Yang’s mischievous eyes as she leaned on the wall opposite to her dorm’s door, arms crossed around her chest. He did not like that grin that she was giving him.

“Gotta admit, I didn’t take you as a sort of peeping tom person. No wait, a peeping  _ Jaune _ .” She cackled at her own joke, making Jaune protest before she got the wrong idea. 

“Shut up, it’s not like that!” He crossed his arms with a loud sigh. “Pyrrha… Pyrrha just threw up. Someone had to take care of her.”

Yang stopped mid laugh and a sort of seriousness grew across her face.

“She never gets sick.” 

“I know…” 

"Then where’s Nora and Ren? I knocked earlier to see if everyone was alright, but no one was there.” 

He leaned against the wall and waved his arm in the general direction of the kitchens. “Probably still trying to get something drink wise for Pyrrha.”

There was a small silence between them. “That was her screaming wasn’t it,” Yang asked;  Jaune’s sigh gave Yang the answer she needed. 

“What happened?” 

The blond ran a hand through his hair as he groaned softly. “That’s the thing. I don’t really know. I mean, we were all asleep and woke up suddenly to her screaming. Then she ran out of the room and…” The silence returned as Jaune stopped, turning his head towards where he left her in the community bathroom. 

“Yang… she was crying.” 

“Bullshit.” 

His head snapped back at her. Yang could have sworn this was the most distraught she’d ever seen across Jaune's face. “I’m serious. Something’s wrong with her.” 

The door opened beside Yang and Ruby’s head popped out. “Jaune, what’s--” she started to ask, looking between her sister and her friend. 

Yang cut her off, “I’ll tell you later, Rubes.” 

“Hey, can one of you do me a favor?” Jaune cut in sharply, looking back at the two sisters. He pointed back behind him at his door. “Since Nora’s still handling Ren’s concoction making, could you give Pyrrha her clothes?” 

Yang nodded, signalling that she would. 

“Great, thanks.” 

He popped in his dorm room and quickly rummaged around for another change of Pyrrha’s sleeping clothes and underwear, as well as a towel. He threw in her shampoo and conditioner for good measure. Jaune didn’t think anything of it till he saw Yang’s smirking as he gave her Pyrrha’s clothing. 

"What?” he asked. Her grin grew wider and she motioned with her eyes looking between him and Pyrrha’s clothing -- specifically her underwear. Wait… what. Jaune’s face reddened from embarrassment as he realized what she insinuated. “I have seven sisters Yang. I know what girl’s underwear looks like,” he sputtered out. 

“Yeah, but these aren’t your sisters’.” 

With a wink that left him red as a tomato, Yang quickly walked down the hall. She entered the bathroom and headed towards the showers. The sound of water rushing down grew louder as she found the shower stall being used. 

“Pyrrha? I brought you clothes! And shampoo!” She knocked on the frosted glass. “Where do you want me to leave them?” The sound of pattering water answered her. Yang knocked again on the glass door. “Maybe she didn’t hear me-- Pyrrha! Hey, I’m going to just throw your clothes by the door if you don’t answer me!” No response. "Pyrrha, come on, answer me!"

Nothing. Now the blonde frowned. She quickly set down her bundle on the floor, before knocking on the door again. “Pyrrha?! I’m opening this door! Hide your naughtybits!”

She half expected the door to be locked, but it swung open, revealing Pyrrha -- still clothed in her soaked sleepwear -- slumped against the side of the shower wall. 

“Shit!” Yang half stepped in, but pulled herself out only to send a quick scroll message to Nora (and Jaune, she added in last minute) to get one of them over to the girl’s bathroom ASAP and sliding her scroll somewhere behind her where it wouldn’t get wet. 

Yang shivered as the  _ very  _ cold water pelted her skin. She had only been in a few seconds before she turned it off and already she felt a deep chill run down her body. How long had Pyrrha been in this cold water? Yang threw herself on the wet ground to press her fingers against the red head’s neck, checking her pulse. A soft, but consistent  _ thump, thump _ shot a wave of relief through her. 

_ Okay, so she’s still alive.  _ Yang pulled the wet girl up and slowly dragged her out of the showers. 

“Come on Pyrrha, wake up,” the blonde muttered, slowly shaking Pyrrha as she heard the bathroom door open. 

“Yang?”

“Nora! The showers,” Yang called back. 

Nora made her way over in a second. She gasped Pyrrha’s name, before grabbing the towel and wrapping it around her.

Pyrrha’s eyes fluttered open for a small moment, before closing them again.  “Pyrrha!” Nora screamed at her. It seemed to do the trick, as half-lidded eyes landed between the two girls. 

“N...Nora? Yang? What ha...happened?” 

Nora looked at Yang and the blonde answered for them, “You passed out, I guess.” 

“Oh…”   
  
“Want Yang and me to help you into warmer clothes?”

“...Mhm.”

Together, they stripped off her wet clothing, dried her off, and helped put on the second set of sleepwear. Pyrrha tried to help as much as she could, but could only safely manage to lean against Yang, shivering. “I’m sorry,” she repeated over and over again; each time, Nora or Yang would tell her “It’s okay” over and over again. At one point, the two girls glanced at each other with a look, quietly asking,  _ “What terrible thing could have taken down our strongest friend this badly?”  _

But there were no answers for them.

Instead, Nora silently took charge of holding Pyrrha up as the trio walked back to their dorm rooms. The sick teen had tried walking by herself, but vertigo got the best of her, leaving her dependent on her friend for help. Yang followed slowly beside them, with both her and Nora’s scrolls in hand. At the JNPR dorm door, she stepped in front of the two, unlocking the door with Nora’s scroll.

The door opened and Jaune quit his pacing immediately to head over to his teammates’ sides. He and Nora helped Pyrrha over to her bed. She swayed even sitting straight up, so Nora got to her other side and acted as a sort of leaning post. Yang quietly handed Nora’s scroll over to Ren. “Feel better Pyrrha,” Yang told the room, and backed out, not waiting to hear four voices offering their thanks. 

“Here you need to drink something,” Jaune said knelt down in front of her. He handed Pyrrha the (only) glass of water Ren and Nora grabbed for her. Pyrrha took it wordlessly. Her hands shook from holding it and she almost let it slip from her grasp. It forced the blond to help her by holding onto the bottom of the cup. But she just blankly stared at it instead of drinking from it. 

“Come on Pyrrha, please drink,” Nora softly worried beside her. 

She nodded slowly and finally brought it up to her lips. As she drank, tears swelled up and fell down her face. She would have missed this. The taste of water. Her friends supporting her through health and sickness. Their love, their comradery, their presence. Life. Her grip on the glass loosened as she brought her hands up towards her face and let out a strangled cry. A flurry of movements surrounded her: Nora wrapping her arms tighter around the girl, Jaune setting down the glass and grabbing a few tissues from the box held in Ren’s outstretched hand. 

“Here.” He pressed the soft paper into Pyrrha’s hands. 

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha cried, bringing the tissues to dry her tears. Comforting hands trailed up and down her arms as she rambled about things only she knew about. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m not strong enough, I’m sorry I let her win, I’m sorry for Penny,  I’m so sorry for hurting you, I’m sorry for leaving you three, I’m sorry I’m not strong enough, I’m so sorry, I'm so sorry…” 

Her team with indistinguishable voices laid her down into her bed and pulled the covers over her. Somehow one of her hands fell into Jaune’s. “Pyrrha--” 

But the grip on Jaune’s hand tightened when he tried to pull away. “I’m sorry… Please…” Embarrassed, he just sat on the edge of her bed. With some persistent nudging -- or was that a threat? -- from Nora, his free hand ran through her long cascade of damp hair. 

When she closed her eyes, Pyrrha wished that she would not dream of fall maidens, broken robots, black arrows, or stolen goodbye kisses. 

When she closed her eyes, her team members looked at each other with worry lines etched deep into their faces. “We’ll talk later,” Jaune mouthed to Nora and Ren. 

With a nod, Lie Ren shut off the lights for the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> I also wrote this before RWBY Chibi started, so if you find it weird that they don't have bathrooms in their dorm rooms, it's because I imagined them having shared facilities. I didn't bother to change it after I saw RWBY Chibi and doors leading to what I imagine is a bathroom in both RWBY's and JNPR's rooms. 
> 
> So, shhhh, pretend that it's like college. (Or like a university dorm building that /has/ shared bathrooms, because those exist and I'm so glad that I never had to deal with it lol.)


End file.
